Embracing Hard Decisions and Prioritizing the Firm
How to Recognize the Need for Change
Making the Firm #1 Client is hard to do when you have made your clients the priority for years. It’s easier to get the work done and work ON the firm when you get caught up. Note to self: you will NEVER be caught up. This is a positive, the world is one of unconditional abundance.
Several truths:
Making hard decisions now will make your life easier in the long run.
Making easy decisions now and avoiding the hard decisions will make your life harder in the long run.
Your clients are NOT worried about you. They are worried about themselves. Self-interest is default behavior. Very few if any will show up at your funeral. They aren’t bad people, it’s normal.
Thinking about actioning is harder than actioning. We often hear, “I should have done this 10 years ago.”
There is NO perfect time to make a hard decision. Quit overthinking it.
Unlearning old ways is harder than learning new.
Old habits and old ways of thinking are the enemy.
How do you start to shift to Making the Firm #1 Client?
You have to treat Making the firm #1 client as a life-or-death matter. It’s non-negotiable.
Book 6 hours per week right now in your calendar until year end. Again, It’s non-negotiable.. Nothing can invade it. Eg. treat it like you committed to take one of your kids to an important event for them.. or another family member..
Price everything like it’s March 23rd. Emotion equals action. All pricing should be double fist pump pricing. This requires you NOT take on clients you should NOT have (insanity and danger zones come to mind).
You can NOT correctly price the wrong customer.
Start to say NO. One mantra.. is “do only the things you can do.” You need to think about this. “do only the things you can do.” The list should be pretty short.
If you do need to work longer hours in the short term, much as it hurts, it’s simply a consequence of where the firm is now, and you can encourage yourself that you’re committed to moving away from that. Short term pain, but long-term gain.
Be a doer. Test things. Price a prospect too high and don’t win the business. You will survive.
The time is now.